New (older) cat and grumpy (younger) cat. Help?

colingwood

Ok so heres my situation.

We were given a 3 year old domestic shorthair female. We currently have a 1 and a half year old male ragdoll. --BOTH ARE DESEXED!!--. Abby (the female) was previously around 2 other cats most her life. Alaska (our raggie) however, has not. The only time he spent around other cats, or other animals (aside from our budgie) is when he was a kitten with his littermates.

Alaska and Abby are not accepting eachother very well. Abby has been in the household for about 24hs now. I know, this isnt long enough for them to settle in with eachother, but I would like to know anyway to make the process swifter and easier on lil Alaska. (Though Abby is 3 years old, she is the size of a 4-5month old, and Alaska is HUGE. He is 6.8kgs i think, hes not overweight. She is 2.3kgs.)

It was suggested I use flour, but we are a lil afraid the affect that will have on their mouth and stomach and dont want to use it.

Abby has settled in great. Is eating, using the litter (even though its a different litter to what shes used to) playing, cuddling and miaow.

I dont expect them to be friends, but this is really distressing my Alaska. He almost tore about the bathroom windowcill last night in an effort to climb up and see where she was. She was crying (she was locked in laundry over night, hhim the bathroom) and she is much more agile than he is lol.

forumboy

If they are desexed, is it still appropriate to refer to one as female and one as male?



[quote name='colingwood' timestamp='1281529288' post='8230']

Ok so heres my situation.

We were given a 3 year old domestic shorthair female. We currently have a 1 and a half year old male ragdoll. --BOTH ARE DESEXED!!--. Abby (the female) was previously around 2 other cats most her life. Alaska (our raggie) however, has not. The only time he spent around other cats, or other animals (aside from our budgie) is when he was a kitten with his littermates.

Alaska and Abby are not accepting eachother very well. Abby has been in the household for about 24hs now. I know, this isnt long enough for them to settle in with eachother, but I would like to know anyway to make the process swifter and easier on lil Alaska. (Though Abby is 3 years old, she is the size of a 4-5month old, and Alaska is HUGE. He is 6.8kgs i think, hes not overweight. She is 2.3kgs.)

It was suggested I use flour, but we are a lil afraid the affect that will have on their mouth and stomach and dont want to use it.

Abby has settled in great. Is eating, using the litter (even though its a different litter to what shes used to) playing, cuddling and miaow.

I dont expect them to be friends, but this is really distressing my Alaska. He almost tore about the bathroom windowcill last night in an effort to climb up and see where she was. She was crying (she was locked in laundry over night, hhim the bathroom) and she is much more agile than he is lol.

[/quote]

brenty

[quote name='forumboy' timestamp='1281577450' post='8319']

If they are desexed, is it still appropriate to refer to one as female and one as male?

[/quote]



Okay, that was pretty funny. In all seriousness though, I registered just to share this:



I recently took in 3 kittens that were abandoned at my apartment complex, so I've been doing a lot of research trying to learn how best to care for them. [url="http://cats.about.com/"]About.com[/url] has some great resources, and I thought [url="http://cats.about.com/od/askamy/a/How-To-Keep-New-Cat-From-Attacking-Older-Cat.htm?nl=1"]this article[/url] in particular might be helpful to you in your situation. When my girlfriend and I finally move in together, her 9 year old cat may have similar concerns!



Anyway, best of luck to you. I think the key is going to be patience. They'll need a lot of love and understanding in what may be a long, difficult period of adjustment for all of you.



Also, just out of curiosity: what exactly was the flour supposed to do? Crazy.

Macrina

Colingwood, I'd say to just give them plenty of time. And I'd keep them separated during the times you're

not right with them, you know, like supervised visitation at first. <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />



And...individually, each cat needs his & her own time & attention from their humans! It can take several

weeks or even months for the first-owned cat to really accept this "intruder", for this is how the new cat

is perceived.



That's a tough combination: it'd be working easier if the older cat had been with you first, because part

of the current dynamic has to do with the immaturity of the cat you had first.



Just my thoughts. Do you have any pictures? Let's see em!